Smoke and Shadows

“Do you want to die tonight, Valentina?”

Alessandro’s voice cuts through the air like a blade.

He stands before me, gun leveled at my face. His dark eyes burn not with fear, but fury. The kind of fury that can rip worlds apart.

I raise both hands slowly. “Put the gun down.”

“You followed me.”

“You didn’t leave me much choice.”

He cocks the gun. The soft, menacing click reverberates louder than thunder. “Don’t test me.”

I step back, bumping into the rusted wall of the warehouse. “You think I’m your enemy? Fine. Shoot me. But when you find out I know more about what’s going on than you do, it'll be too late.”

His jaw clenches. That bullet is one breath from escaping the chamber.

“I heard what that man said,” I whisper. “He was talking about Bianca. She’s alive, isn’t she?”

A pause.

And the gun lowers just a fraction.

“You heard nothing,” he says hoarsely. “You should’ve stayed in your room.”

“And you should have told me someone put a price on my sister’s life!”

The words hang between us, raw and dangerous.

He looks at me really looks and something shifts behind his guarded eyes. He shoves the gun back into his belt.

“Get in the car,” he growls. “Now.”

I hesitate.

He storms past me. “Unless you want me to drag you by your damn hair.”

I grit my teeth but follow.

The ride back is silent. Alessandro stares straight ahead, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. I sit in the passenger seat, fingers itching with questions.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask finally. “Why keep me in the dark?”

He doesn’t look at me. “Because you’re not supposed to be here.”

“Well, I am. And pretending I’m some clueless little bride is going to get someone killed.”

“You don’t get to make demands in this world, Valentina.”

“And yet, here I am. Breathing.”

He slams the brakes. The tires screech, and the car jolts to a stop on the side of the road.

Alessandro turns to me, fury dancing across his sharp, handsome face.

“You think this is a game? You think because you showed up in a white dress and played the part of the substitute, you’re untouchable?”

I glare back, refusing to flinch. “No. I think I’m involved whether I like it or not. So stop treating me like background noise and start treating me like someone who wants answers.”

A long pause. The wind howls outside.

Finally, he speaks.

“Bianca didn’t run. She was taken.”

My stomach knots.

“Taken?” I breathe.

He nods once. “The night before the wedding. She disappeared from her hotel suite. No signs of a struggle. Just… gone.”

“And you still went through with the wedding?”

He looks out the windshield. “I didn’t have a choice. Neither did you.”

I lean back in the seat, head spinning. “Who took her?”

“We don’t know yet.”

“You tortured a man tonight to find out.”

“And got nothing but riddles in return.”

I close my eyes.

There’s more to this.

There’s always more.

Back at the mansion, guards unlock the heavy gates and we drive inside. I expect to be escorted to my room. Isolated. Ignored.

But Alessandro surprises me.

He leads me down a long, dim hallway I haven’t seen before stone floors, thick wooden doors, and the faint scent of gun oil and smoke.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

He opens a door at the end and flicks on the light.

A hidden control room.

Dozens of surveillance screens glow against the darkness. Camera feeds from around the estate and beyond. City streets. Airports. Shipping docks.

He gestures to the screens. “This is where I work. Where I watch. Where I listen.”

I stare, heart hammering. “Why show me this?”

He leans on the desk. “Because you want answers. So here’s your first lesson, Mrs. De Luca everyone is lying. Including you.”

My breath catches.

“I’ve read your file,” he continues. “You weren’t supposed to be the one involved in this family. You were the rebel. The runner. The one who caused problems.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

He ignores the sarcasm. “So why did you come? Why take your sister’s place?”

I step closer, my voice steel. “Because I couldn’t let her disappear without a trace. Because I wanted to find out what happened. And maybe… because part of me wanted to see just how far the rot in this world goes.”

Our eyes lock.

For a moment, the anger ebbs. But not the danger.

Never the danger.

That night, I lie in bed, wide awake.

The mansion is a fortress. Every window barred. Every hallway watched. And somewhere inside these walls, a man who could snap my neck in one motion now knows I’m not as helpless as he thought.

I close my eyes and Bianca’s face haunts me.

Where are you?

( Somewhere in Milan...)

A woman paces a dim room, her face gaunt, her body bruised.

Bianca Russo.

She clutches a burner phone in trembling hands. A voice speaks through the speaker.

“Your sister is alive. But not for long.”

Bianca's voice cracks. “You said you'd let her go.”

“Only when you finish what we started.”

Silence.

Then, Bianca whispers, “Alessandro De Luca… will kill you all.”

The line goes dead.

Back at the De Luca estate, I step out onto the balcony. The night is cold. I wrap my arms around myself.

And that’s when I feel it.

Someone watching me.

I spin!

Lorenzo.

Leaning against a column, eyes unreadable, wine glass in hand.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Valentina,” he says softly.

“Funny. I was just about to say the same to you.”

He smiles darkly. “Careful. You might find that I’m the only one around here who’s willing to help you.”

“Help comes with a price.”

“In this world?” He shrugs. “Everything does.”

He steps closer, lowering his voice. “Be careful who you trust, principessa. Even your husband has secrets.”

“I already know that.”

“But do you know why Bianca was taken?” he asks.

I stare at him.

“No,” I say.

His smile vanishes.

“Then maybe you should start looking in your own family first.”